Christmas 2010

A few days after the official photo, Santa came over to the house.  Not everyone was excited to see him.

But Desmond felt better by the end of Santa's visit

 

Santa brought a bunch of crazy elves with him, too. They left candy canes ALL over the house!

Before too long, it was Christmas Eve.  The boys took advantage of the snow for some playtime!

They made a "no-man!" (Dexter still isn't really great with the s_ consonant blends.)

Later, they warmed up with a special dinner-on-the-sofa of sliced carrots, mandarin oranges, and milk.  (Yum?)

And then it was Christmas!!!!  At least one Cooley was excited and ready to go! (The others needed a few more minutes to wake up.)

OK, maybe more than a few minutes.

And Santa really did come!

After presents, Dexter and Desmond enjoyed a fine breakfast of WAFFLES!  It's a new favorite.  I'm pretty sure we threw some fruit in there, too, before it was all over.

And then, a little post-waffle relaxation. (I believe they were watching Monsters, Inc., which some of us have just about memorized by now.)

Boy was it a white Christmas!  

Finally, we made it to Grandma & Granddad's.

Phew!  It was a busy Christmas, but I think everyone had a really great time. The boys certainly love everything they got and made us all smile a lot. :)

Ho Ho Ho!

You can make me see Santa, but you can't make me smile!

Dexter's 2nd Birthday Party

Dexter's second birthday party was a big success!


The story, in pictures:

The invitation

Anita, our FAVORITE pastry goddess, works on assembly and finishing touches to Dexter's amazing cake. Note that we did not discuss the cake beforehand at all - this is ALL her!  And these are the exact same 2 vehicles that are on his invitation.  She pays so much attention to detail.

Tootsie rounds up some balloons.

Brenden gets to work at the (otherwise mostly ignored) activity table.

Isabel's turn creating her own construction site!

Phew!  Good thing Dad and Pop set up this swingset the day before.

Livia tries out the monkey bars.

Awww.  Lillie and her Grandpa.

What are you looking at, huh?

Time to EAT!
Pizza, veggie tray, chips, and punch.  Good times.

The birthday boy did eventually turn around and take a few bites.

Hi Granddad!

HATS!

PRESENTS!

I'm TWO!

I'm cool with this dump truck, ok? 

CAKE!
And ice cream!

He didn't really know what to do with those candles.

Goodie Bags

Post-party Relaxation Time